LONDON, Jan 21 (Reuters) – The European Parliament may
demand a rethink of new rules designed to make derivatives
markets safer in the wake of the financial crisis, potentially
leading to months of uncertainty for banks that are big users of
these products.

Members of the Parliament are discussing a resolution which,
if approved next month, would trigger a formal review of the
rules, two sources from the European Parliament said.

LONDON/PARIS, Jan 21 (Reuters) – Lobbyists found themselves
preaching to the converted: the European Central Bank and Bank
of England needed little persuading in the end that new global
liquidity rules for commercial banks needed loosening.

Central bankers realised they had to relent unless they
wanted to remain cash machines for squeezed European lenders
indefinitely, said sources close to negotiations on the rules.

LONDON, Jan 18 (Reuters) – The head of Britain’s new
financial watchdog lacks adequate experience in the core role of
protecting consumers and will need to demonstrate he will
improve choice, British lawmakers said.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) formally starts in
April as part of a shake up of supervision designed to plug gaps
and failings highlighted by the financial crisis.

LONDON (Reuters) – Goldman Sachs (GS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) has scrapped plans to delay paying bonuses to its bankers in Britain to exploit an income tax cut for top earners after Bank of England Governor Mervyn King criticized the move.

Earlier on Tuesday, King chided the U.S. investment bank for considering a delay in bonuses until after April 6 when the top tax rate falls to 45 percent from 50 percent.

LONDON, Jan 15 (Reuters) – Bank of England Governor Mervyn
King warned on Tuesday that investors appeared to be making
worryingly risky bets at a time when Britain’s economy was weak
and its banks had not yet recovered from the financial crisis.

Speaking before a committee of British legislators, King
also said Britain’s banks would have to raise large amounts of
capital as fines for rigging the Libor benchmark and
compensation to investors for mis-sold loan insurance, hit
reserves.

LONDON (Reuters) – Bank of England Governor Mervyn King criticised Goldman Sachs on Tuesday for considering a delay to paying bonuses until after a cut in Britain’s top income tax rate in April.

King’s intervention ratchets up the pressure on Goldman (GS.N: Quote, Profile, Research), which sparked a furore last week when it said it might delay bonus payments to staff in Britain until after April 6, when the top rate of income tax falls to 45 percent from 50 percent.

LONDON, Jan 15 (Reuters) – Bank of England Governor Mervyn
King criticised Goldman Sachs on Tuesday for considering
a delay to paying bonuses until after a cut in Britain’s top
income tax rate in April.

King’s intervention ratchets up the pressure on Goldman,
which sparked a furore last week when it said it might delay
bonus payments to staff in Britain until after April 6, when the
top rate of income tax falls to 45 percent from 50 percent.

LONDON, Jan 14 (Reuters) – British banks offering large home
loans that risk fuelling a future housing boom will have to hold
extra capital to keep the financial system safe, the Bank of
England said on Monday.

Britain’s weak economy makes a credit boom look a distant
prospect for now, but the central bank and the country’s
lawmakers are already putting in place new rules to stop lending
destabilising the economy in future.

LONDON, Jan 10 (Reuters) – Britain cannot supervise foreign
bank branches properly, making it harder to spot wrongdoing like
Libor rigging, the former head of the Financial Services
Authority said on Thursday.

Branches, unlike subsidiaries, are mainly supervised by the
bank’s home regulator rather than the FSA, which must take a
back seat on matters like capital requirements.

LONDON (Reuters) – The public face of Britain’s banks during the financial crisis considered resigning several times over her members’ fight against compensating customers mis-sold loan insurance.

The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) mounted the challenge in 2011 against principles from the Financial Services Authority (FSA) on how lenders should contact customers about the mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI).